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Program History

2017 was a whirlwind. A new president in the White House, ramped up authoritarianism, nativism, and repression, attempts to suppress social justice movements and the media, and increased warmongering and militarism. 2017 also saw an increase in the range and depth of grassroots efforts to fight back and build people's power.

From updates on Venezuelan elections, to the political economy of sports, to an analysis of the rising right, CPE celebrated it's 15th Anniversary year by asking tough questions and drawing strong connections.

Where is the Left at?
with Cindy Weisner, Sendolo Diaminah, and Carl Bloice
Raising Reds: Children & Families in Left Organizations
with Diana Block, Tony Marks-Block, Miriam Ching Louie, Lung San Louie, Giuliana Milanese, Giulio Sorro, moderated by Mei-ying Williams
Dancing with Dynamite: Social Movements and States in Latin America
with author, Ben Dangl; Leila Salazar-Lopez, Amazon Watch; Gustavo Oliveira, Bay Area Friends of the MST
Marxism 101 Class
A four-part workshop and study group led by the collective of the Center offering a beginning/intermediate study of Marxist principles, theory, and relevance to today’s movement building.Read More »

Venezuela Speaks! Voices from the Grassroots
with co-authors, Carlos Martinez and Michael Fox
Voice of Roma: Benefit for the Voice of Roma Education Center in Kosovo
with Sani Rifati, founder Voice of Roma and Marko Muir, educator at Voice of Roma
Community Gathering and Benefit for Haiti
film showing: Haiti: We Must Kill the BANDITS
co-sponsored by Haiti Action Committee, SOUL, Chinese Progressive Association, PODER, POWER, and Teachers for Social Justice
What’s Going On: Resisting Racism on California Campuses
with Tiffany Dena Loftin, UC Santa Cruz student organizer
US Social Forum 2010 Info Sessions: Get on the Road to Detroit
information sessions to help people prepare to attend the USSF.Read More »

The Victory of Resistance in El Salvador: the 2009 Elections and Beyond
with Felix Salvador Kury, Cuba Educational Project and Franchesca Austin-Ochoa, CISPES
Mexico Unconquered: Chronicles of Power and Revolt
with author, John Gibler
From the Civil Rights Movement to the Immigrant Rights Movement: Lessons Learned
with Elizabeth “Betita” Martinez, activist and author; Phil Hutchings, Black Alliance for Just Immigration; and Renee Saucedo, organizer, advocate, and lawyer.Read More »

Black-Brown Alliances from Mexico to California
with Ron Wilkins, Southern California activist, photographer and teacher: Maria Elena Ramirez, Bay Area activist and counselor at Ohlone College; and Sandra Mitchell, Bay Area teach and co-founder, San Francisco Freedom School
Co-sponsored by the Black Alliance for Just Immigration and the Institute on MultiRacial Justice
Dismantle: Policing, Displacement, and the Criminalization of Poverty
with Tiny Gray-Garcia, POOR Magazine; Elder Freeman, All of Us or None, Homies Organizing the Mission to Empower Youth (HOMEY)
The Electoral Arena: Challenges and Opportunities for the 2008 Presidential Election and Beyond
with Linda Burnham, activist, and author of “Obama and Clinton: The Tightrope and the Needle”; James Tracy, Bay Area housing organizing and co-author”The Left and Elections”
CHANGE: Environmental Justice and the Fight against the Prison Industrial Complex
with Susana DeAnda, Community Water Center; Patrice Douglass, Critical Resistance; and Mari Rose Taruc, Asian Pacific Environmental Network
July 26 Celebration
Screening of ¡Salud!, a feature-length documentary about Cuba’s dedication to just health systems around the world.Read More »

From San Salvador to San Francisco: Workers Strike Back
Film showing and discussion with workers from El Salvador and the Bay Area, sharing stories of factory take overs and campus shut downs.
As Long As I Live: Comfort Women from Korea
Film showing a number of the surviving women live in the House of Sharing and travel to the Japanese embassy for a weekly demonstration demanding an apology from the Japanese government and testimony from a surviving comfort woman, Koon-ja Kim, who was forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II.Read More »

Freedom Fighters 101: Che & the Women of the Black Panther Party
A two-part workshop for young people to look more deeply at individual revolutionary icons, the struggles they were a part of, their continuing legacy, and what it means that a figure like Che appears on handbags and advertisements today.Read More »

Music and Resistance Film Series
Including the films Fela (Fela Kuti), Wattstax (about the 1973 concert), 5 Sides of a Coin (on the 5 elements of hip hop), and Salsa: Latin Pop Music in the Cities.
The Rise and Fall of Mission Housing
With the Committee to Save Mission Housing
A discussion on the history of the struggles at Mission Housing and the Mission District more broadly, in light of economic and political pressures that lead to displacement of working class communities of color.Read More »

Battle of Algiers Post-Film Discussion
A discussion led by Rayan El-Amine and Jason Ferreira contextualizing the film in the history of the 50’s and 60’s, highlighting the film’s relevance for activists and organizers today. In conjunction with the showing of the film at the Castro Theater.Read More »

Progressive Majority Series
A four-month, six session series to develop strategic thinking on building a progressive majority in the U.S. and to create a dialogue and build ties between left activists in various communities and labor movements.
Egypt and the Anti-War movement
A discussion of the anti-war movement in Egypt with Atef Shehata of the Institute for Human Rights in Cairo, and Nadine Naber, Arab scholar and activist
World Social Forum 2003 Report Back
with several members of Bay Area youth delegation and local community groups
War at Home: Recession and Repression
with Ruthie Gilmore of Critical Resistance and California Prison Moratorim Project, Jody Sokolower of Education not Incarceration Coalition, and Jenny Friedenbach of the Coalition on Homelessness and No on N Campaign.Read More »